A suspected U.S. missile strike near the headquarters of a top Taliban leader in Pakistan's tribal areas Thursday killed six people and injured five others, according to Pakistani intelligence officials and residents. The attack occurred late Thursday morning, said Ikramullah Mehsud, a resident, when an unmanned U.S. Predator drone fired several missiles on two homes in the town of Ladha in the tribal area of South Waziristan. A Pakistani intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the bombardment killed at least two extremist commanders who are believed to be of Arab origin. "The others killed were most likely local militants, but we don't have any information about the owners of the two houses that were bombed," the intelligence official said.
In the wake of faltering Pakistani efforts to control the flow of insurgents across the border into Afghanistan, U.S. missile attacks on Islamist insurgents sheltering in the rugged mountainous tribal areas of Pakistan have become more frequent this year. There have been 12 such attacks on Pakistan's tribal areas since August. Most of the recent missile strikes have occurred in the tribal areas of South and North Waziristan, which are believed to be the main operational bases for top al-Qaeda leaders.
But Thursday's attack in South Waziristan was notable because it marked the first aerial assault in more than a year on a well-known redoubt of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, according to another Pakistani intelligence official. The official said there was no indication that Mehsud was nearby when the attack occurred, but residents told authorities that several Arab men believed to be allied with the Taliban had been seen in the area of the attack recently.
U.S. intelligence officials have named Mehsud as the mastermind behind the Dec. 27 suicide bomb attack that killed former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Mehsud has denied responsibility for her death. With an estimated 25,000 Islamist insurgents united under his command, Mehsud is, nonetheless, considered by many military and intelligence experts to be one of Pakistan's most powerful Taliban commanders.
Concerns about the spread of the Taliban insurgency inside Pakistan reached new heights last month after a spectacular suicide bomb attack on a Marriott Hotel in Islamabad killed more than 50 people and injured about 250. Rising security concerns have been a topic of debate among Pakistani lawmakers who met this week in a closed-door session to discuss a recent military briefing about insurgent activity in the country.
In recent months, Pakistan has evolved into the new frontline in the U.S.-led war on Islamist insurgents in the region. On Wednesday, top U.S., Pakistani and Afghan military officials met in Islamabad to discuss cooperative efforts to combat insurgents on both sides of the 1,500 mile border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. It was the second time in recent months that the top NATO commander, Gen. David D. McKiernan, has met in Islamabad with the Pakistani army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, and the Afghan army chief, Gen. Bismullah Khan.
McKiernan, in a written statement released Thursday, said Pakistan, Afghanistan and NATO must work together to close gaps in military efforts to crush the insurgency. "We most close those seams and work together to give the insurgents no place to hide," McKiernan said.